And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife. (1 Nephi 16:7)Does anyone else think it really fascinating that the oldest daughter of Ishmael accepts a former servant as a husband? I could speculate all day about this because there are so many possible dynamics and criteria at work.
On one hand, there is the smallness of the group of eligible marriage prospects, so there could be an element of “take-what-you-can-get” involved.
Then there is the factor of age. You’d think that eldest children would marry eldest children and the pairing would happen all the way down the birth order. Not so. It sounds like some kind of crazy mix-and-match happened.
Then there is the factor of maturity and faithfulness. I’ve read that eldest children tend to be more mature and responsible, though Laman seems to have missed the boat on that.. (I bet Laman and Lemuel ended up marrying the two daughters of Ishmael who wanted to go back to Jerusalem.) Maybe Ishmael’s eldest daughter thought Zoram’s experience as a servant would be an asset to a marriage rather than a loss of status. In their survival situation, status would mean nothing, but service and skill would mean everything.
That, I think, is also applicable today in dating among Mormons. Where spiritual survival is at stake, service, skill, and spirituality mean way more than worldly status or looks when choosing a spouse. (Hmmm. I suppose I have just articulated the Mormon Darwinian Doctrine of Marriage, a principle by which spiritual selection, not natural selection can occur. Select according to service, skill, and spirituality. And it should go without saying that these are qualities to cultivate in oneself as well.)
According to these standards, whoever married Nephi was very blessed. He was always trying to serve the Lord and his family--making a new bow, finding food, building a ship, teaching his family.. It strikes me that his abilities kept increasing with every difficult thing he was asked to do by the Lord. You notice that eventually he builds a temple. I bet he was commanded to do that too and didn’t know how at the beginning, but he attacked the task in the same way that he attacked the task of building a ship. I suspect that his wife had to have been someone with the same can-do faith and attitude, otherwise he wouldn’t have picked her.
5 comments:
I started rereading the Book of Mormon a few weeks ago and just noticed that for the first time about Zoram and the eldest daughter of Ishmael. I thought it was very interesting as well. I think you are spot on in your conclusions! :)
More probably she was a less ideal spouse, due to age or whatnot.
I've always imagined that Nephi's wife was probably the daughter of Ishmael who pled for him in 1 Nephi 7:19.
I was thinking that this servant could have been an "adopted son" of Lehi and Sariah? Could their circumstances have been similar to Abraham and Sarah,
Gen 15:2 (Youngs Literal Translation)
2And Abram saith, 'Lord Jehovah, what dost Thou give to me, and I am going childless? and an acquired son in my house is Demmesek Eliezer.'
The Lord promised Abraham seed,but it seems that in Gen 15,he was somewhat impatient,maybe struggling to build his testimony of the promise of children,even in his advanced years. So, the reward to Eliezer for being a faithful servant,was to be "adopted as a son" into the household. This was a common tradition.
Could Zoram be an "adopted elder son" of Lehi and Sariah?
Just saying.....
Great points, all. Yeah, I wondered too if she was a less ideal spouse. That's why I said there was plenty to speculate about. I too have suspected that Nephi ended up marrying the daughter who pled on his behalf to Laman and Lemuel
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